SLT-A65 user here.
Have you tried upping the ISO and using MFNR (multi frame noise reduction)? I posted some shots onto Flickr to help a fellow Hog, shots taken in August in Venice, Italy and posted to demonstrate MFNR & HDR capabilites of the SLT-A65. All shots are handheld and some off moving boats.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86101670@N02/
I went from the A100 to the SLT-A65 mainly because of the lenses I had for the A100.
SLT-A65 is amazing, very similar in spec to the A77 but fewer shekels. OK, A65 is not waterproof so I bought a rain cover.
In camera HDR and multi frame noise reduction are fabulous.
Perfect to my eye, beautiful image.
Photomatix Pro is a standalone application so you don't need Elements to run it. There are quite a few free programs on the web if you want to try out HDR before investing in Photomatix (or something like it). Have a look at:-
http://captainkimo.com/hdr-software-review-comparison/
If there are any propellor aircraft, try cutting the shutter speed down to say 1/180-1/200, that way you will have a nice motion effect on the prop(s)-nicer to my eye than using a high shutter speed and freezing the prop(s). If the aircraft are in the air then at a lower shutter speed you have to pan smoothly.
Enjoy the display!
Welcome.
I have had a SLT-A65 a few months now having upgraded from a A100. Fantastic to be able to take advantage of the newer technology. Posted some images onto Flickr some a fellow hog who was investing in the A65:-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86101670@N02/All bar one image taken using in-camera HDR or MFNR. Found Gary Friedman's ebook on the A65/A77 very useful in the early days.
Maybe - depends on your ability.
See:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOZRN2mxajkas an example.
I did it with a Minolta AF lens, got rid of dust and removed oil from iris blades. You will need top quality instrument screwdrivers such as those made by Wiha. You need to ultra clean and it is not easy.
Bill,
Had to hunt some of those down for quite some time! Most score reasonably well on dyxum.com, that's always my initial guide. Have to say I am very pleased with what I have picked up so far.
Just had a look at sample images off the Sony 16-105mm, impressive, crystal clear at f8 - f9. Very useful focal length range, a good city walkabout lens.
Paul.
Bill,
I took the following lenses to Venice:-
Minolta 50mm f1.7 prime
Minolta 35-105mm f3.5-f4.5 zoom
Sony 18-70mm f3.5-f5.6 zoom
I didn't bother with anything of a longer focal length, SLT-A65 has a 1.4x digital zoom at 12MP and 2.0x at 6MP. Only used the 1.4x a couple of times. Could have done with something like the Sigma 10-20mm f3.5 zoom on occasions.
Also had good results with:-
Sigma 28-200 f3.5-f5.6 zoom
Minolta 75-300 f4.5-f5.6 zoom
I have had most of these for a few years, running on my old Sony A100, the Minolta 35-105mm was a very recent aquisition.
Paul.
Bill,
Saw a good report on Friedman's book and went for it-nothing against DB at all.
Not found much on video. I find it a bit like using a new PC or program, use it, get stuck and find the answer, I always tend to learn and remember a lot more that way. Friedman gave me the bare bones, am now starting to put some muscle on them.
Paul.
Bill,
Don't think you will be disappointed.
Gary Friedman's pdf book "The complete guide to Sony's Aplpha 65 & 77 SLT cameras" is excellent.
Paul
The image inside the church with the group of people on the right is not an in camera HDR shot, it is a MFNR (multi frame noise reduction), handheld. All images are tagged as to HDR or MFNR.
In posting this small selection I was simply trying to help Bill (shieldsadvert) judge both in camera HDR and MFNR.
In camera HDR was a tremendous advantage in the strong Venice August sunlight - can't imagine how I would have captured images off the back of a moving vaporetto using conventional HDR. I was in Venice for 4.1/2 days and setting up and taking 5-7 RAW images would have been too time consuming and reduced my 'coverage' of Venice.
Bill,
There is a lot of good Minolta kit out there if you are prepared to do the research and look - I have even bought old film camera set ups just to get hold of the glass. Your combination sounds good to me, you would cetainly have a useful range of focal lengths.
I'm sure you will make it, where there's a will...............
Paul
Did you get chance to look at the other features? e.g. HD video is amazing with the ability to get stills from the video (haven't tried that one yet), 10fps burst rate impressive.
I have added another image of a trader's stall to the Flickr link taken with an old plastic Minolta 50mm f1.7 prime that never fails to give great results. This image was developed from a RAW, no additional processing.
http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/index.aspis the site I use a lot for researching older Minolta lenses. Very much personal choice as to what you go for, the Zeiss should be amazing and ideal size for lumping round Venice in the heat - remember the digital zoom facility x1.4 @ 12MP and x2 @ 6MP, loose a bit in quality but at least you get the shot!
I get the impression that the new Sony's are causing a bit of a stir with CanNik owners. Pays your money, takes your choice but I am quite happy with images I can now get without a tripod and without flash.
Enjoy Venice, I did a lot.